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Earnings Management, Conservatism, and Earnings Quality

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  • Ewert, Ralf
  • Wagenhofer, Alfred

Abstract

This monograph reviews economic models that study earnings management and conservatism in an information economics framework. Both introduce a deliberate or a mandatory bias in financial reports. The fundamental issue this monograph addresses is what economic effects these biases have on earnings quality. We focus on models of managers in firms interacting with rational capital market participants, and briefly consider some contracting models. The models allow us to analyze earnings management and rational inferences by market participants in equilibrium in a variety of settings and to pinpoint costs and benefits of earnings management. We discuss how investors can elicit the maximum information from the biased reports and what potential remedies actually achieve in equilibrium. For example, accounting standards that reduce discretion for earnings management may be detrimental from a welfare point of view. In rational expectations models earnings quality can be defined as the information content in reported earnings. We discuss the earnings response coefficient, value relevance, and accounting-based earnings quality measures and how they reflect changes in earnings quality. Further, we review analytical work on conservatism of accounting standards and why conservatism can be welfare-enhancing even though it introduces a bias in the earnings reports. It is exactly through this bias that the benefit arises. Therefore, a differentiated view of earnings management and conservatism is warranted; neither is principally desirable or undesirable, but this depends on the circumstances. The benefit of equilibrium models is that they offer a rigorous explanation for the phenomena and show that sometimes conventional wisdom does not apply. There exist subtle interactions between accounting standards, the institutional environment, and earnings management that lead to several insights that challenge conventional wisdom. The models describe the economics behind these results and the particular circumstances.

Suggested Citation

  • Ewert, Ralf & Wagenhofer, Alfred, 2012. "Earnings Management, Conservatism, and Earnings Quality," Foundations and Trends(R) in Accounting, now publishers, vol. 6(2), pages 65-186, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:now:fntacc:1400000025
    DOI: 10.1561/1400000025
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nguyen Van Nguyen & Quang Linh Huynh, 2019. "The Importance of Earning Quality and Organizational Reputation to Financial Effectiveness," International Journal of Asian Social Science, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(7), pages 406-416, July.
    2. Pietro Perotti & Alfred Wagenhofer, 2014. "Earnings Quality Measures and Excess Returns," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5-6), pages 545-571, June.
    3. Lu, Tong & Ruan, Lijun, 2024. "Coordination and Conservatism," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. Qi Chen & Zeqiong Huang & Xu Jiang & Gaoqing Zhang & Yun Zhang, 2021. "Asymmetric Reporting Timeliness and Informational Feedback," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(8), pages 5194-5208, August.
    5. Stephen Penman, 2016. "Conservatism as a Defining Principle for Accounting," The Japanese Accounting Review, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, vol. 6, pages 1-16, December.
    6. Gao, Pingyang & Jiang, Xu, 2018. "Reporting choices in the shadow of bank runs," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 85-108.
    7. Macve, R.H., 2015. "Fair value vs conservatism? Aspects of the history of accounting, auditing, business and finance from ancient Mesopotamia to modern China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 124-141.
    8. Theophillus Rufus Akintoye, Aguguom & Oyesola Salawu, Rafiu, 2018. "Earnings Quality And Firms Financial Performance: A Missing Link In The Listed Firms In Nigeria," International Journal of Contemporary Accounting Issues-IJCAI (formerly International Journal of Accounting & Finance IJAF), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), vol. 7(2), pages 32-54, December.
    9. Sumiyana Sumiyana & Ainun Na’im & Firdaus Kurniawan & Albertus H. L. Nugroho, 2023. "Earnings management and financial distress or soundness determining CEOs’ future over- and under-investment decisions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Günther Gebhardt & Araceli Mora & Alfred Wagenhofer, 2014. "Revisiting the Fundamental Concepts of IFRS," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 50(1), pages 107-116, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial reporting; Real earnings quality; Conservatism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law

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